At social gatherings and the like, it is common for attendees to be furnished with food and beverages to be consumed while interacting with other guests. Usually, a plate for edibles is carried in one hand and a beverage container is carried in the other hand. For drinking or eating one must be placed temporarily on a rest surface or placed on the plate, greatly increasing the possibility of spilling or confusion with the drink and food of others. Further, with both hands occupied it is difficult to socially interact in customary manners, such as hand shaking, gesturing and the like.
To overcome the above difficulties and disadvantages, various serving trays for holding both food and drinks with a single hand have been proposed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,401,858 to White discloses a service tray wherein a pair of openings are included in a rear wall of the tray to enable a user to hold both the tray and a beverage container. The cantilevered weight is borne entirely by the user's wrist. A similar tray is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,266 to D'Oliveira wherein the user grips an end portion of a tray having discrete areas for nesting a beverage glass and a food plate. The weight is also borne entirely by the user's wrist and requires constant gripping pressure. Further, any inadvertent wrist movement can result in instability or spillage.
To more evenly distribute the weight of the tray and contents, grasping surfaces on the bottom of the tray have been proposed. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,346,070 and 5,429,231 to McSpladden disclose a cup like portion for holding a drink container that is grasped by the user's hand to support the tray and contents. Holding the tray is not only tiring but also requires forearm inclination for maintaining proper horizontal orientation to avoid spillage. A further approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,026 to Bradley wherein a serrated conical handle is provided on the bottom surface of the tray for grasping by the user. The tray includes food areas and a slotted glass holder for supporting stemmed glassware. The tray is adapted to be additionally supported by the forearm of the user. Nonetheless, the handle must be tightly and continuously grasped to prevent wobbling about the longitudinal or roll axis.